Jamael Campbell, a 26-year-old Black/African American male, was killed in Monessen, Pennsylvania, in the early hours of June 25, 2018. Reports said police were called to the 1200 block of Summit Avenue shortly after midnight for a shooting, and Campbell was found dead at or near the back porch of a two-story brick building at 1209 Summit Avenue. Some reports described his address as unknown, while others said his last known address was in Pittsburgh.
The coroner’s office determined that Campbell died from a gunshot wound to the head, with police specifically reporting that he had been shot in the back of the head. Deputy Coroner Joshua C. Zappone pronounced him dead at the scene, and Westmoreland County Coroner Kenneth A. Bacha ruled the death a homicide. An autopsy was performed that morning, and the official cause and manner were listed as homicide by gunshot wound to the head.
The scene was described as a downstairs apartment area in the back of the building, with Campbell’s body found outside near the porch. One local account said a neighbor tried to help after the shooting, but Campbell had already suffered a fatal injury. The killing happened around 12:35 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., depending on the report, with police and the coroner’s office placing the fatal incident in the early morning darkness of that Monday.
Monessen police and the Westmoreland County Detective Bureau took over the investigation, but the early reports stated that no arrests had been made and that no suspect had been identified. News coverage published at the time repeatedly described the case as active and under investigation, with authorities saying more information would be released when available.
Months later, in March 2019, police raided the same Summit Avenue house as part of a drug-trafficking investigation and reported finding stolen guns, drugs, and packaging materials. Two people, Eric Emerson and Kimberly Jackson, were taken into custody in that raid, but the available reporting connected them to the drug investigation, not to Campbell’s homicide. Police noted that the same house had been the site of Campbell’s killing the previous summer, and the report indicated that no arrests had been made in relation to his death.
Based on the available online reporting, there is no confirmed public record in the sources reviewed of any suspect being charged, tried, convicted, or sentenced for Jamael Campbell’s homicide. The case appears to have remained unsolved in the public news record, with no reported punishment or sentencing tied to the person who shot and killed him.
